Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles "Chuck" Yeager, the World War II fighter pilot ace and quintessential test pilot who showed he had the "right stuff" when in 1947 he became the first person to fly faster than sound, had died. He was 97.
"In an age of media-made heroes, he is the real deal," Edwards Air Force Base historian Jim Young said in August 2006 at the unveiling of a bronze statue of Yeager.
He was "the most righteous of all those with the right stuff," said Maj. Gen. Curtis Bedke, commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards.
Yeager, from a small town in the hills of West Virginia, flew for more than 60 years, including piloting an X-15 to near 1,000 mph at Edwards in October 2002 at age 79.
"Living to a ripe old age is not an end in itself. The trick is to enjoy the years remaining," he said in "Yeager: An Autobiography."
U.S. Force Major Charles "Chuck" Yeager, left, and Miss Jacqueline Cochran, winners of this year's Harmon International Aviation Awards as the world's outstanding aviator and aviatrix, shown, July 4, 1954. Maj. Yeager was honored for his piloting the X-1A rocket-powered experimental aircraft to a speed of more than 1,600 miles per hour; Miss Cochran for becoming the first woman ever to break through the sound barrier and for many speed records. (AP Photo)
Captain Charles Yeager, center, of Hamlin, W.Va., the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound, receives the Gold Medal of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale at ceremonies, Sept. 6, 1949, Cleveland, Ohio. Right is William R. Enyart who made the presentation and with Yeager is his wife Glennis Yeager. (AP Photo/Julian C. Wilson)
American Pilot Jacqueline Cochran receives a pre flight briefing from Colonel Charles "Chuck" Yeager at Edward's Base, California on Aug 25, 1961. On Aug 25 Cochran flew a Northrop-Talon T-38 Jet plane a 1,356 kms/h breaking the record for the fastest female flight. Yeager was the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound. (AP Photo)
Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager smiles to the crowd during the Veterans Day parade in Sacramento, Calif. Friday Nov. 11, 2011. Yeager, who was the first man to break the sound barrier, was the grand marshall of the parade.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles Yeager straps into an F-15D for a re-enactment flight commemorating his breaking of the sound barrier 65 years ago on Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
Capt. David Vincent, right, congratulates retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles Yeager following their F-15D re-enactment flight commemorating Yeager's breaking of the sound barrier 65 years ago on Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles Yeager, center, poses for photos with pilots David Vincent, right, and Pete Ford, left, following a re-enactment flight commemorating Yeager's breaking of the sound barrier 65 years ago on Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
Five jet age pioneers gathered at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., October 26, 1979, for a symposium celebrating the 40th anniversary of jet age aviation. From left are: John E. Steiner, " Father of the Boeing 727 "; Hans J.P. von Ohain, developer the the jet aircraft's first engine; Anselm Franz, developer of the axial flow turbojet engine; Brig. Gen. Charles ( Chuck ) Yeager, first man to fly faster than the speed of sound and Air Commodore Sir. Frank Whittle, first to sucessfully operate a turbojet engine; Najeeb E. Halaby, former head of the FAA. ( AP Photo/ Dennis Cook )
Capt. David Vincent, left, congratulates retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles Yeager following their F-15D re-enactment flight commemorating Yeager's breaking of the sound barrier 65 years ago on Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
Gen. Chuck Yeager in introduced during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Pacers and the Minnesota Timberwolves in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Chuck Yeager watches during the first half of an NFL football game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)
General Chuck Yeager is shown as he is honored before the start of an NBA basketball game between the Miami Heat and the Portland Trail Blazers, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
General Chuck Yeager, center, is presented with a plaque by Miami Heat forward Meyers Leonard, right, as he is honored before the start of an NBA basketball game between the Heat and the Portland Trail Blazers, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, file photo, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles Yeager steps into an F-15D for a re-enactment flight commemorating his breaking of the sound barrier 65 years earlier, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken, File)
FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, file photo, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles Yeager talks to members of the media following a re-enactment flight commemorating his breaking of the sound barrier 65 years earlier, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken, File)
FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, file photo, retired Air Force Gen. Chuck Yeager is shown as he is honored before the start of an NBA basketball game between the Miami Heat and the Portland Trail Blazers, in Miami. Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 26, 2002, file photo, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager receives a plaque from the National Defense Industrial Association, recognizing his breaking of the sound barrier and the use of X- 1 loading pit, at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Yeager again broke the sound barrier Saturday, for what he said was the last time, more than a half-century after he became the first person to accomplish the feat. Yeager took an F-15 Eagle to just over 30,000 feet. Yeager died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97. (Ron Siddle/The Antelope Valley Press via AP)
FILE - In this 1948 file photo, test pilot Charles E. Yeager, 25, poses for a picture in a jet's cockpit. Yeager was first to fly faster than the speed of sound. Another Yeager feat, flying a jet under a Charleston, W.Va., bridge in 1948, was not reported by the local media. Yeager died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - In this Oct. 14, 1987, file photo, retired Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager unveils a statue of himself, in Hamlin, W.Va., on the 40th anniversary of his historic supersonic flight. Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97. (AP Photo/Steven Wayne Rotsch, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 4, 1985, file photo, Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier in 1947, poses at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in front of the rocket-powered Bell X-IE plane that he flew. Yeager died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 14, 1997, file photo, Chuck Yeager explains it was simply his duty to fly the plane, during a news conference at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., after flying in an F-15 jet fighter plane, breaking the sound barrier once again during the 50th anniversary of supersonic flight. Behind the retired Air Force general is a mockup of the Bell X-1 rocket plane which Yeager flew in the supersonic flight on Oct. 14, 1947. Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, at age 97. (AP Photo/Michael Caulfield, File)